This invention relates to telephone answering apparatus and, more particularly, to remotely controlled telephone answering apparatus which is capable of recording incoming telephone messages and then notifying a user of this apparatus that such a message has been recorded and should be retrieved.
The use of automated telephone answering equipment has become advantageous to many organizations and businesses. Such equipment enables one to receive important telephone messages even though he may not be present at his telephone station. However, until recently, messages which had been recorded on a user's equipment could not be retrieved, i.e., played back, until the user returned to the site of such equipment.
Recently, remotely-controlled telephone answering apparatus has been introduced which offers the feature of permitting a user to operate his apparatus so as to retrieve previously recorded messages from virtually any telephone station. One example of such remotely-controlled telephone answering apparatus is sold by Dictaphone Corporation under the trademark "Ansafone", Model 690. A user is provided with a portable, battery-powered key tone generator which is adapted to generate a particular tone signal capable of selectively operating the telephone answering device so that previously recorded messages can be retrieved. This device includes a magnetic announcement tape upon which the user records a desired announcement so as to inform a caller that the user is not available to communicate directly and that the caller should recored a message if he so wishes. A magnetic message tape then is activated and suitable recording electronics which are coupled to the telephone line will record whatever message the caller transmits. After this message has been completed, the telephone answering device automatically is disconnected from the telephone line and is reset in preparation of the next incoming telephone call. The user can retrieve previously recorded messages merely by calling the telephone station at which his device is located and then activating his key tone generator so as to transmit the particular tone to his device via the telephone line. Upon receipt of this tone, control circuitry is actuated to rewind the message tape and then to drive that tape in a normal, playback direction so that the messages which has been recorded on the rewound portion are transmitted over the telephone line to the user. At the completion of a message review operation, the telephone answering device automatically is reset in preparation of the next incoming telephone call.
While remotely controllable telephone answering apparatus of the type described hereinabove generally is advantageous, most such devices do not initiate a message retrieval operation on their own. That is, previously recorded messages are not retrieved until the user directs an incoming telephone call to the device. Consequently, the user will not be apprised of, for example, an urgent message which should be retrieved immediately and acted upon promptly. Also, if relatively few incoming messages are received, a user, not being apprised of the reception of such messages, may call his device many times, only to retrieve the very same messages as before, without detecting new messages. Still further, since the user must initiate a message retrieval operation by calling his device, situations may arise where it is undesirable to initiate numerous telephone toll calls from remote telephone stations.
The foregoing disadvantages generally can be overcome if the telephone answering device is provided with suitable control circuitry whereby a predetermined remote telephone station is called automatically by the device after each incoming message is recorded. This would apprise the user of each new message without requiring him to call his device. Hence, urgent messages could be retrieved immediately. Also, telephone tolls which are registered during a retrieval operation will be charged to the user's telephone station.
If a telephone answering device is provided with the aforenoted capability to call a remote telephone station whereat the user is expected to be located, various factors may prevent that telephone call from being answered promptly. Therefore, it may be desirable to initiate repeated telephone calls to that remote station until the user has an opportunity to answer and to retrieve the recorded messages. However, it may be useful to limit the number of such repeated telephone calls that are initiated. For example, if the telephone call is made to an erroneous station, there should be a limit as to the number of such calls that are initiated.
If a telephone answering device is provided with the capability of initiating a telephone call to a predetermined remote station, it is assumed that the user will be located at that station in order to receive the call and retrieve recorded messages. If the user changes his location, the telephone answering device must be controlled, or "reprogrammed," to initiate a telephone call to the user's new location. Accordingly, it is desirable to enable a user to reprogram his device from any remote telephone station so that the device will call the proper remote station after an incoming message is recorded.
In some instances, a user may change locations so frequently that it would be impractical for him to reprogram his device with each change. However, if the user subscribes to a radio paging service, it would be desirable for his telephone answering device to communicate with the paging service so that the service, in turn, will apprise the user to call his device and thereby retrieve the recorded messages.